Children's Books

We've enjoyed reading a lot of books to our children, especially before bed (for an hour or so). It's a wonderful way to spend time together doing something that you both can enjoy). Here are some of our favorites:

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Ironic tales (8 so far) of the three Baudelaire orphans and their trials as they try to escape Count Olaf's clutches.

Watership Down by Richard Adams (Avon Books, 1972)
This has got to be one of my favorite books of all time. It's a great story of leadership, courage, community, and hope. We've read it twice.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit works well for children (at least ours), but the other three are much thicker.

The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle
by C. S. Lewis (Mass Market Paperback - August 1994)
What a great series of tales of adventure, friendship, courage, and faith.

Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater. Fun story about a pair of penguins that changed the Popper family (and the country) forever.

Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White. What's not to like? A friendship between a farm girl, a pig, and a spider, and the way they save each other.

The Trumpet of the Swan, another E.B. White book we enjoyed.

Little House in the Big Woods and following Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Lots of fun reading about a family that travels from the big woods of Wisconsin to the prairies of the De Smeet Territory

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. Classic tale of love between a brother and sister and a pony they named Misty. Set on the outer banks of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Also wrote Stormy, Misty's Foal, Misty's Twilight, and King of the Wind.

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Goblet of Fire). Read what you will about this famous series of stories of friendship, coming of age, courage, and love, but at least take the time to read it. Click on the book image to read some sample passages that keep us coming back for more.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Fun but thinly disguised book of virtues in which justice is served to Charlie and 4 bratty companions at Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Squids Will Be Squids: Fresh Morals for Beastly Fables
Jon Scieszka  Lane Smith (Illustrator). One of many funny stories told by this off the wall writer/illustrator duo. If you like this one, you'll also like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Math Curse, and The Frog Prince--Continued.

Animalia by Graeme Base. Wonderful ABC fantasy picture and word book that has given us hours of pleasure. We also liked The Sign of the Seahorse.

Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time by James Gurney. Fantasy adventure about a boy and his father who discover a lost island where dinosaurs and people share life together.

Dinotopia: The World Beneath by James Gurney. Companion volume to A Land Apart from Time.

Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight. We loved it. We cried a lot.

Letters from Felix by Annette Langen. Tour the world with a lost rabbit making his way home from Paris to a little girl who loves him.

Tuesday by David Weisner. Great picture fantasy book. We also liked June 29, 1999.

Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Picture puzzles and a world unto themselves.

Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James is a fun book to read to little ones. It's about a child who writes to Mr. Blueberry during summer break with questions about the whale that has moved into the family's back yard.

Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collectionby Wilbert Awdry. Yep. We've read all 26 of them!

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